Home > Six Ways to Create an Engaging Office Environment This Tax Season

Six Ways to Create an Engaging Office Environment This Tax Season

by AccountingWEB on Mar 27 2012printer friendly

By 1st Global Staff

An often overlooked part of marketing and growing your practice involves your physical office arrangement. The appearance of your office should set the client in the right frame of mind to engage you for additional services, especially wealth management services. Most CPAs and attorneys do not pay close attention to the detail in how their office appears. All of us have certain limitations on how we can arrange our offices, but don’t let this stop you from making the most of what you have this tax season. Here are six ways to create an engaging office environment:

1.Arrange your lobby effectively

Your lobby should reflect how you want your firm to be perceived by your clients. It should be tastefully decorated with quality, conservative furniture. Preferably, clients should not be able to see or hear other parts of your office from the lobby. Never discuss client business in the lobby, and never discuss one client’s affairs in front of another. If you have space for a client conference room, use it for all client discussions that don’t take place in a private office.

When displaying your wealth management services or other investment material in the lobby, it should be limited to pieces that reflect the image you want to create. It is appropriate and profitable to use such material to spark client interest, but don’t clutter up the place so that the client is confused.

Announcement boards can be very effective tools for welcoming clients to your office. Try a welcome board that lists the names of clients who will be visiting that day. You might even try maintaining a bulletin board in your lobby titled “News About Our Clients.” You can post newsletters and media pieces featuring your clients there.

If you have the space, use a television to play the Method 10™[1] screen saver or other investment messages or to show a news channel.

2.Greet your clients

It can be effective to have your clients announced to you over the phone intercom. It is best to leave your office and greet the clients personally in the reception area rather than having them ushered back to see you. When you do greet them, be sure that you make physical contact in some way. A good firm handshake with both husband and wife is appropriate. Or try a friendly pat on the back for the man and a possible light touch on the forearm of the woman. The extent of your cordiality depends on the type of relationship you have with your clients, of course. You should never invade “their space” for too long and all touch should be within the bounds of good taste.

Call the clients by their names and instruct your staff to do likewise. When you walk into another’s place of business, think of how it makes you feel to hear the sound of your name being called out in a friendly manner. It makes you feel important and welcome. Your client’s name should be mentioned at least three times during every visit.

3.Meet around a table

Never put a desk between you and your client if you can avoid it. Try using a small round or oblong table. If you are sitting with a husband and wife, try to sit between them so that everyone can see what you are presenting. Most top producers prefer working around a small table, and they prefer to sit next to the clients. Some studies show that elderly clients feel more comfortable with traditional dark wood furniture, while younger professionals feel more comfortable with modern light wood modular furniture.

4.Use a whiteboard or flip chart

Everyone should have a whiteboard or flip chart to write on in the office. Whiteboards are invaluable tools in selling. Most people are visual learners and need to see illustrations of what you are talking about. Use the board to write down points or objections that your clients raise. Then you can go back to those points to be sure that you have covered them all.

5.Display marketing materials

Make sure it is obvious to your clients that your firm is in the financial services business. You must professionally display ample marketing literature. Charts showing stock market indices, the history of interest rates, etc., are interesting and will reinforce what you are doing in your clients’ eyes. They won’t make sales directly, but they will pique interest.

You will receive volumes of display materials from product sponsors. Be sure that all brochures, prospectuses, annual reports, etc., are current. Outdated materials not only make you look bad, but they also are illegal.

6.File technical and marketing articles

Ready reference to technical and marketing articles will help you to do your job more effectively. If you are a 1st Global Method 10™ participant, for example, try setting up three-ring binders with sections for each Method 10™ element. At 1st Global[2], we suggest setting up two sets of binders, one for technical items and one for sales/marketing information on each category. For example, you may have a section of each binder on retirement planning, which includes 403(b) and 401(k) technical articles in one binder and retirement planning sales and marketing ideas in the other. The articles and technical memorandums are an excellent and quick referral source. You may also want to keep additional Compliance-approved copies that you can provide to your clients.

The most important item to remember about marketing and growing your practice is that you need to consistently remind your clients of the services that you provide. Don’t assume your clients know what tax services, or wealth management services, you offer; remind them through consistent marketing. And, this includes your physical office space.

To learn more about how to take advantage of the world-class practice development curriculum offered by 1st Global, call (800) 959-8461 or e-mail LearnMore@1stGlobal.com[3].

This article and its content have been provided by 1st Global. With more than 450 firms affiliated with 1st Global, it is one of the largest wealth management services partners for the tax, accounting and legal professions. 1st Global delivers the required capabilities essential for wealth management excellence including progressive ongoing education, which places the firm in a unique position to offer wealth management knowledge.

1st Global was founded by CPAs on the belief that accounting, tax and estate planning firms are uniquely qualified to provide comprehensive wealth management services to their clients. Each affiliated firm is provided with education, technology, business-building framework and client solutions that make these firms leaders in their professions through dedicated professional client relationships built around wealth management.

1st Global Capital Corp. is a member of FINRA and SIPC and is headquartered at 8150 N. Central Expressway, Suite 500 in Dallas, Texas, (214) 265-1201. Additional information about 1st Global is available via the Internet at www.1stGlobal.com[2].